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News & Features
From the Idyllwild Town Crier weekly newspaper, 03.18.10 edition.
Ghosts and ghouls need home
By Marshall Smith,
Staff Reporter
At
the March 11 meeting of the Idyllwild Community Recreation Council
(ICRC) meeting, Kathy Sacher Wilson, director of the chillingly popular
Halloween Haunted Ghost Town, proposed moving the event, ghosts, ghouls
and all to a new venue — the Idyllwild Community Center site.
In principle, the ICRC board agreed, pending approval by the land donor
of a planned chainlink fence enclosure for the event. “It’s what [the
kind of event] we’re supposed to do,” said Director Emily White. “We’ll
get back to you within a week,” said ICRC Chair Chris Singer. Wilson is
contemplating the move because Faux Ever After, the site for the
previous five years of the Ghost Town, is closing shop.
“This is an Idyllwild School Parent Teachers Association [PTA] event,”
said Wilson. “All profit from the event benefits the PTA. And the PTA
will cover the insurance for the event, including a hold harmless
agreement for ICRC.”
Wilson explained the house has exterior walls with state-of-the-art
animatronics, lighting, special effects and live actor ghosts and
ghouls. “The site will be completely fenced,” said Wilson responding to
ICRC concerns over safety.
The site would be used for approximately 11 weeks — four for
construction, five for operation on weekends beginning in early October
through Halloween weekend, and two weeks to break it down. ICRC is
attracted to the fact that the PTA has a large container that could be
moved to the property to store equipment while building the
house, therefore making the entire operation more sightly and
less of a construction site appearance.
Wilson said the PTA would pay for electricity used at the site during
all phases of construction, operation and breakdown.
Next steps include Board member Vic Sirkin and site architectural
advisor Robert Priefer going to look at the PTA container. Then, after
Wilson prepares an agreement covering the operation, Sirkin and Priefer
will take it to the land donor for approval. Board member Linda
McCaughin suggested involving Mountain Community Patrol to patrol the
site during hours of operation. “That would reassure me a lot,” said
McCaughin voicing concerns over patron safety.
“We have emergency lighting, as per Fire Department requirements,” said
Wilson. “Also an emergency code word of which all cast and crew members
will be advised. When the code word is used stet the show stops and
emergency lighting is switched on.”
“Community Haunt” the name of the 501(c)3, will pay for portable
toilets and security fencing. Cast members will perform nightly cleanup
on weekends of operation, according to Wilson
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